Tag: Osinbajo

WHAT the nation needs to grow are good managers of the collective wealth and the political will to fight corruption.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said this yesterday in Benin City at an interactive forum with the citizens.

Prof. Osinbajo told Edo people that every policy of the APC was geared towards job creation.

The former Lagos State Attorney-General assured that Nigeria will grow reasonably well within one year of APC coming to power.

He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to lead the fight on insurgency by visiting Chibok and acting like the commander-in-chief.

Osinbajo said: “It is about being serious about management of the resources. We are looking at all options. We have to stop the bleeding and leakages. There has been no explanation about missing $20 billion and no explanation for the $7 billion paid for kerosene subsidy.

“The first thing to note is that in our manifesto, before writing any policy, we ask: ‘how many jobs will this produce? As the first tier of relief, the APC has agreed that the states, with the backing of the Federal Government, will employ 20,000 young people. That is because it is an emergency that we have.

“If we don’t tackle that emergency, we may run into trouble. In fact, if you see the restlessness of the young people, you will know that unless we do something about this, we will be in great trouble”.

“We also intend to give a tax break to the people who give a certain number of persons employments in their businesses. So, they will enjoy tax breaks and they will enjoy recognition of government.

“Somebody needs to explain to us how 400 thousand barrels of oil is stolen every day. We do not need rocket science to do that. Somebody sees this theft done; we have to stop it.

“If we allow another four years of this kind of theft, nothing will be left. It’s not about tribe, religion or ethnicity. If we want to win a football match, we won’t ask if this man is from Ogun or Edo, we chose the best 11″.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola lampooned the presidential campaign of the PDP, saying President Goodluck Jonathan could not marshall out any plan after six years in power.

Fashola said Jonathan kept blaming everybody, “forgetting that he is the president and commander-in-chief of the country.”

THE residents of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, yesterday received the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who led a walk for change round major streets of the town.

Osinbajo, who was accompanied by Governor Rauf Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat; the deputy governor, Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, addressed thousands of people at the Osogbo City Stadium.

The walk was tagged: “Nigerians Walk for Change (Buhari/Osinbajo.)”

Other dignitaries, who participated in the programme, include the Speaker, state House of Assembly, Najeem Salaam; the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; APC’s state chairman, Prince Gboyega Famoodun, and other chieftains of the party.

Many supporters of the APC from adjourning towns and villages trooped out to join the team as the walk took them through streets such as the Oke-fia, Alekuwodo, Olaiya, Oluode market and ended at the Osogbo township stadium.

Addressing the crowd at the Osogbo township stadium, Osinbajo noted that “by February I4, God will grant you people of this country the new Nigeria” they desperately craved for.

The vice presidential candidate said the APC government, when sworn-in May 29, will change the country’s social and economic status from poverty that has bedevilled it under the Jonathan-led Federal Government, to a wealthy and prosperous nation.

According to him, the coming of APC will usher in a government of the masses, which will focus on youth employment and infrastructural development.

Osinbajo promised that the government on assumption of office will employ 20,000 youths in every state.

He added that agriculture and food production will be given a priority unlike under the Jonathan administration, where he said many Nigerians are living with hunger.

Osinbajo also added that primary school pupils will be fed free every school day in every state, noting that healthcare and other sectors will be adequately cared for.

Aregbesola lamented that the Jonathan-led PDP government has brought untold hardship to the people, noting that the “rate of poverty is alarming and beyond the thinking of every reasonable people.”

The governor urged Nigerians to support Buhari/Osinbajo for the much desired change in Nigeria.

He said: “Osun is solidly behind Buhari-Osinbajo candidacy. It is compulsory to support the APC in its bid to turn around the fortune of Nigeria. The government of Goodluck Jonathan had for close to six years brought untold hardship to the people of the nation.

“We must therefore join hands with Buhari-Osinbajo’s team to rescue the teetering ship of our dear country. With Buhari as president, all the nation yearns earnestly for will be done within a short period of time.

“One paramount duty we must, as true citizens of this country, perform in February is to vote wisely and vote for Buhari. A vote for Buhari’s is a vote for development, growth and abundance. A vote for Buhari is a vote for an end to poverty, misrule and insecurity in Nigeria.”

Many chieftains of the APC, including the APC chairman, the Assembly Speaker and others also addressed the crowd.

ALL Progressives Congress (APC’s) vice presidential candidate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said the party’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, will personally lead the onslaught against Boko Haram, if elected.

Prof. Osinbajo, who spoke on Channels TV on Sunday night, said: “Fighting insurgency requires the Commander-in-Chief to lead from the front by providing leadership.

“Instead of politicising the issue, APC will galvanise all support and ensure that the threat to the territorial integrity of the country is put on check. And General Buhari will ensure that the entire nation is mobilised, irrespective of party affiliation to solve the problem.

“We will not be looking for the faults of the PDP or accuse them of sponsoring it, as is presently the case. Everyone knows that the opposition today is not responsible for the insurgency.”

Osinbajo also hailed the Nigerian Army, which, he said, was capable of defeating “Boko Haram in days”.

The APC vice presidential candidate promised to provide the necessary equipment and conditions to make the fight effective.

He said: “We have some of the best soldiers one can find anywhere. All you need is to equip them well.”

Osinbajo, who is also a pastor, spoke about how his church service affects his work as a politician.

“The reason I function as a pastor is essentially because I want to touch the lives of as many people as possible with the love of Jesus Christ and we must, in every situation we find ourselves, be able to help the poor, be able to help those who can’t help themselves and stand up for justice.

“I will do same as a political leader. All of these roles must be played in the same way and with the same motivation. As far as I am concerned, it is all the same”.

Claiming that “the entire nation is tired of the state of things”, he promised that the APC would bring the needed change, if given an opportunity to govern Nigeria.

He dismissed the claim that the APC presidential candidate was a religious fundamentalist, saying that “General Buhari is a very credible individual that does what he says”.

Listing Buhari’s antecedents, he said: “He believes he must be careful with commitments he makes and he always wants to fulfill that commitment. Over the years, he has come to embrace the tenets of democracy. He is in every way someone that should be trusted with democratic governance.

“I think that it has been over 20 years since 1983. We cannot judge a man with what he was in 1983 and today.

“I think the claim that Buhari is a fundamentalist is unfair.

“The PDP has done a fairly good job in making it appear that he is a fundamentalist. I think that is unfair. No one has ever accused General Buhari of being an Islamist.

“He has never been a fundamentalist. When he was in office, his deputy was a Muslim. They were under pressure to join the Organisation of Islamic Countries, but they refused. Seventy per cent of the members of his cabinet were Christians. He worked very well with Christians.”

Prof. Osinbajo also exonerated the former head of state from the post-election violence of 2011, insisting that a statement by Buhari at that time could not have triggered the violence.

On what the APC would do differently if elected into power, he said the performance of the APC in the states it had its members as governors had demonstrated that good governance was not rocket science.

“It is the first time that a party will say that his policies are guided by what the man on the street wants.

“We are looking at how the government can better the lives of the people directly while encouraging business and industry to do the same.

“So at the core of the APC’s manifesto is the common man. The man on the street.

“We will have social security. We will focus on jobs for the young people, universal health insurance, conditional cash transfers for the poorest people in the society and explore several options for power. Power makes it difficult now for industry and business to take-off in Nigeria,” Prof. Osinbajo said.

He also said the APC would further privatise the power sector’s transmission, which he emphasised was an important process in power generation.

On security, the APC vice presidential candidate said the party would tackle poverty in the North to ensure that Boko Haram sect did not find young and poor youths to recruit.

Prof. Osinbajo noted that the economy would have grown more if the problem of the economy had been tackled.

“The problem of the Nigerian economy is management of the resources and that is critical with the way the APC government would deal with issues. One of the issues surrounding the economy is complete lack of accountability.

“What the government needs is accountability. Resources must be managed well. If you don’t fight corruption and make people face the consequences of corruption, you will find the same problem,” he said.

THE Federal Government will create one million direct jobs in the New Year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

A statement issued in Abuja  by Laolu Akande, his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Publicity, quoted Osinbajo as saying that another one million poor Nigerians would benefit from the first phase of the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme.

The statement said the vice president made the remark during an interactive session with a cross-section of Nigerian Community in Burkina Faso.

Osinbajo was Burkina Faso to represent President Muhammadu Buhari at the inauguration of the country’s  president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

He said Buhari had announced job opportunities for 500,000 graduate-youths to be engaged as teachers.

He added that an estimated 500,000 non-graduate unemployed people would be trained as artisans.

The vice president explained that the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme was intended to utilise the thrift system to grant loans to market women to enable them improve their businesses and earn decent living.

He said the homegrown school feeding programme would provide adequate nutrition to school children and also boost agriculture, create jobs and wealth locally.

Osinbajo assured the Nigerian community that the fight against corruption was a continuous one.

He said the Buhari administration would prosecute those involved and recover all the loot that had been traced.

“We will go after Nigeria’s fund wherever it is found and we will recover it,’’ he said, saying: “Our country is bound for greatness.’’

The vice president told the Nigerian community that the President was a man to be trusted; a man of integrity.

“I am proud of our leadership and this is a great opportunity for the country to be great,’’ he added.

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, David Bala described the one million Nigerians resident in the country as “peaceful and law abiding” people.

Michael Adeyanju, the leader of the Nigerian community, thanked the Federal Government for attending the inauguration of the Burkinabe President.

•Fashola, Ambode urge Nigerians to vote Buhari

ALL Progressives Congress (APC’s) vice presidential candidate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday that Nigerians were fed up of  the “failed promises” of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

He believes that only those comfortable with poverty, hunger and want to remain jobless will vote for the President’s return next year.

Osinbajo, who was addressing thousands of artisans, tradesmen and farmers at a town hall meeting organised by the Lagos State in Ikeja, reiterated that there must be a change of government at the federal level to liberate Nigerians from poverty.

The former Lagos State attorney General said: “No one is ignorant of all that is happening to us in this country. No one likes hunger and poverty; but people are hungry. In 2015, only those who love to continue to be hungry would prefer that the government in power at the centre remains there.

“By God’s grace, we would remove them from the seat of power. The people there presently cannot do anything, because they don’t know how to. They lack the capacity and capability to govern the country. I pray for the farmers and artisans that the Lord will bless us in the incoming year.”

He hailed Governor Babatunde Fashola for his  achievements, adding that he has the best record of achievements among his colleagues.

Also speaking, the state APC flagbearer, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, said the progressives, from the period of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to Fashola, had continuously provided good governance to Lagosians.

If voted into power, he said, his administration would not deviate from the principle.

He urged Lagosians to vote  for the party at the governorship election as well as its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

His words: “Our promise to you as a party is to provide good governance and able leadership. We want to take good care of your businesses. If you have been making N1,000 profit before, we want to provide the facilities your businesses need to enable your profit swell to N10, 000.

“We know that when you make more profit, you will have more to take care of yourself, your children and your home. We promise not to stress you with our policies.

“I also want to remind you that no matter what we do, if we do not take over the central government, we may be hindered in a way and may not be able to provide all that we want to provide for you.

“There must be change of government at the Federal level. APC must take over in Abuja.

“In Lagos, we remember where Tinubu started from and how Governor Fashola consolidated on his achievements and raised the bar. That is what we want to continue in Lagos.”

Earlier, Fashola noted that if Nigerians observed and analysed the country’s situation critically, they would find out that Nigeria is not better off than it was in 2011.

He enjoined Nigerians to vote for APC at both the governorship and presidential elections, reiterating his support for Ambode.

The governor said the emergence of APC candidates at next year’s general elections is the only way out of the country’s predicament.

His words: “The time to make a very important decision is here. Your request for continuity in Lagos is what I support. But for that project to continue, it would require you to vote for our party in 2015 election.

“If you vote for him, not only will he continue, but will improve on what I have done. Also, our party has during its primaries elected Gen. Muhammed Buhari and Prof. Osibajo, if you vote them into power in 2015; you would have successfully rescued this country from destruction.

“In politics, promises are important and that is why no one should make promises that they can not fulfill. And that was why we said that the time for ‘I had no shoe’ is over.

“The president made promises within and outside the country. But today, those promises are yet to be fulfilled. He promised to reduce the importation of generator, but today, citizens have bought more generators than the numbers they bought before 2011.

“He promised to ensure that the country move beyond producing and exporting crude oil to exporting refined petroleum product because Nigeria has no reason to import kerosene. But today, we have not moved beyond where we were in 2011.

“He promised to fight corruption in the country regardless of the person involved, but the president has refused to release the audit report of the missing $20 billion on crude oil.

“That is not how to fight corruption. We know that the audit has been completed. The president is shielding the report and he must release the report.

“He is shielding the report because he knows the contents of the report. These are the issues for the next election and there is no reason for anyone to engage in violence.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has attributed the poor implementation of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) to its alleged hijack by chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Osinbajo spoke with reporters at a restaurant in Lagos, in continuation of his meet-the-people campaign tour.

Claiming that the Federal Government might have had the best of intention in establishing the programme, he noted that its stated objectives have not been achieved due largely to its abuse and mismanagement by government’s cronies.

He said: “I make bold to say that in terms of stated objectives, the SURE-P has failed due to the wrong strategy adopted in its implementation.

“The subsidy fund has been mismanaged and abused. The way and manner it was set up makes it open for abuse.”

On the objectives of his campaign tour aimed at interfacing directly with the people, Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said it was part of listening to the concerns of the people and explaining the vision of the APC, if it forms the next government at the centre.

“We are moving around Lagos to meet the people. It’s a phased plan and we have plans to move to other states in due course. The election is about 40 days away and within this period, we want to cover as many states as possible,” he explained.

On the agenda of an APC-led Federal Government, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General said job creation and security would form the fulcrum of its policies.

According to him, every policy of the government would be geared towards providing jobs for the people.

He added that within the first few months in office, the 36 states would be mandated to provide a minimum of 20,000 jobs as immediate relief to tackle unemployment.

In addition, he said employers of labour, who employ a certain number of people, would be offered incentives by the government, while agriculture would also be accorded priority through massive subsidy.

Osinbajo added that APC-led administration would introduce the construction of low cost housing, provision of one meal per day for primary school pupils with its multiplier effects in the agriculture sector and payment of stipends to graduates, who have undergone vocational training after the completion of their National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).

He noted: “Eighty per cent of graduates do not have jobs and youths are disenchanted and something needs to be done urgently. For me, my interest in politics is all about the people. As the Attorney General in Lagos State, I created the office of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) to defend the rights of poor people.

“Any responsible government must cater for the needs of the people. I can assure you that an APC-run government headed by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari would take the welfare of the people very seriously. There would also be social security for the disabled and the elderly.”